Jaqui's Guide To Dating: Chapter 19

Chapter 19
The Walk of Shame

I’ve done the walk of shame, the bus of shame, the taxi of shame, the tube of shame, the train of shame, the drive of shame and the lift of shame. Wow my mum must be so proud! We’ve all done it though, haven’t we? To be fair, on some of these shame rides I was the wingman so it wasn’t actually my shame burden to carry down the pavement towards home.

One of my all time favourite shames was the taxi of shame. My wingman and I ended up at some random house after a great night of Tequila induced revelry. I woke up on a blowup mattress with what I believed to be the beginning stages of hypothermia and went through to find my wingman fretting about how to get home. What she didn’t know was that I have cunning tricks that I’ve picked up from various folk that I’ve met throughout my lifetime. We went through his post and found his address and a bit about his lifestyle at the same time; result. Job done, the taxi was ordered and before long we found ourselves on the journey towards home congratulating ourselves on our excellent stalking skills.

The Shame run is anything but pleasant however it is kind of amusing when it’s not you. You can recognise a shame victim immediately. You know the type of betty who’s stumbling along with a Coke, panda-eyed, high heels slung limply to her side, tight little number looking a bit creased, bed hair, eyes looking pavementward? I’ve had friends who’ve done it with the addition of red feather boas and fishnets, Christmas hats, 80’s lycra... but none took the cake quite like “Emma” after the baby oil incident. You may remember Emma from a previous entry, she had to ride a London bus looking like she’d had a date with a chip fryer.

There’s a lot of shame in my life, some self inflicted and some because I have really strange relations like Cocaine David for example. There’s also my late Aunty Emmy who nicked an entire bag of Malteasers from under my cousin’s nose, no one steals candy from a baby do they? Emily does. Anyway on one particularly surreal morning I did the walk of shame around my own house. Hold that thought, should I not be writing this as if I’m someone else…?

Okay… I have a friend, let’s call her “Sally”. Sally just so happened to live with the lovely Wayne and Fiona. You remember Wayne and Fiona don’t you? They’re that dynamic couple I used to go and visit, she likes to iron and starch? Anyway Sally moved into the house that they lived in and they didn’t really take to her terribly much. She wasn’t like most girls they’d met who like to darn socks on Saturday nights and attend church services on Sunday, thereafter preparing the evening’s roast with three veg and insipid gravy. She was feisty and loud and worse of all opinionated. Sally moved in and by the end of week one the cabin fever had set in, she had to go out. Sally rounded up the troops and all but Wayne and Fiona were keen on a little razzle dazzle.

Sally decided that after a week of being housebound she needed to break out the Laura Mercier “Seduction” and high heels. Her transformation was complete and as she trotted downstairs she was sure she looked like a million dollars because Wayne said, ‘not many people can pull off red lipstick without looking like a hooker’. Sally was pretty sure that he meant that she looked like a hooker which was good news because the last thing she wanted was Wayne’s approval on an outfit, unless she was going to a nuns and mums party.

Sally entered the bar and Seduction worked a charm as you may remember from the 'Red Lipstick' entry; however you’re missing a few of the finer details. It turns out that London taxi drivers are not charmed by Seduction and will take advantage of inebriated folk at every turn. The Tescos said taxi driver dropped Sally and her new found New Zealand pal was the wrong one so they had to walk about 3 miles to the house. No matter they were drunk and the adventure ahead lay in getting home in exceptionally high heels without falling over.

The mood in the house the next morning was odd to say the least and Sally couldn't quite put her finger on it. Sally awoke and promptly informed New Zealand that the path to success was out her door. She purposefully sported her finest Springbok jersey thinking it would rile him to the point of distraction. However he took this as an illustration of keenness for sport and therefore asked if she would escort him to the door whilst they discussed their mutual passion. Sally pondered the scenario whereby she would have to escort New Zealand (“What the Hell was his name again?”) out the door, walking past Wayne and Fiona and the rest of the homies. ‘Unlikely at best’, she thought and told New Zealand she was too hungover to move. New Zealand looked slightly put out but Sally has dated assholes so she’s developed a Brazil nut exterior and was unmoved by his look of ‘Que?’

Sally bade her annoying accented friend adieu and wrapped herself in her duvet. Had it not been for the hope of Coke downstairs she wouldn’t have exited her comfortable nest until Monday morning. However Coke was most necessary so she took the plunge towards the unknown. As her foot landed on the last step leading towards the kitchen she knew that what she was in for was sure to be a delicious treat. In her "hangoverus maximus" state she forgot that her homies NEVER EVER go out… EVER. It was a picture of domestic bliss, Wayne and Fiona were sitting discussing their bills and the rest of the homies were watching some poor quality tv. Sally knew she had makeup all over her face and she was feeling a little dizzy, her face reflected not only someone who had over imbibed but also there was a clear picture of shame. As Wayne met her eye she knew the game was up.

‘Did you have a nice evening?’ he enquired. Sally being new to Wayne’s world pipped ‘mmm yes thanks…’
‘We’re going to have to do something about your bed…’ he uttered in his most patronising tone…
‘Huh?’ thought Sally and then realised in a fuzz of vague drunken haze she may have remembered some squeaking. On further inspection she did the "jump test" and the penny dropped as to why Wayne’s eyes were dark ringed and he looked a little sleep deprived. As luck would have it Wayne and Fiona were in the room beneath Sally’s.

The other homies were obviously delighted with Sally’s performance especially as she was new to the world of the house. At first they liked to torment her and tell her how absolutely foot-stamping mad Wayne was as he likes his sleep and he's into the Old Testament rules. Sally felt like she was paying rent for a room that wasn’t even hers which made her even more ashamed. She mused about the likelihood of Wayne and Fiona shagging and wondered why it was okay for them but not for her? Feeling so down in the dumps and ashamed about a random napover was a new feeling and the shame simply increased as she started to doubt her lifestyle choices. After some realisation and a couple of ironing incidents she returned to her senses and realised that Wayne's missionary position is not only a position in the bedroom but a position on life.






I am happy to report that Sally is currently living in a flat with her wingman… and her bed no longer squeaks.